Running Away
by anime0angel
Summary: We all know L died but what if there was another player in the game. Could she change fate? Could she save him? Or will she be to busy running away from the things she doesn't want to face? LxOC
1. Wake

This is my first Death Note fanfic but not my first fanfic. I was going to wait a little longer before I uploaded this but I am uploading it now for some reason. I haven't finished writing all the chapters yet and I am a slow writer so if farther down the story the uploads get slower I am sorry. But that shouldn't be a problem for a while if at all. So enjoy and please review! It is what motivates me to write faster! And I love your opinions good or bad. Thanks.

* * *

:**Running Away****:**

::Wake::

* * *

Running away.

It's what I do. It's what I have always done.

I ran away from what I couldn't handle. What I didn't want to face.

It wasn't until I met _him_ that I found something I would always come back to.

I may have still ran away but I always came back because of _him._

And then _he_ left and I stopped running away and started running towards something for once.

When I found _him_ again things didn't get better. There was danger at every step.

Now I'm so close to losing _him_ and I don't know what to do.

All I feel like doing is running away. Because I don't think I can save _him _and I know I can't handle losing _him_.

And once _he_ is gone there will be nothing holding me here anymore and I'll just keep running and never stop.

::

* * *

A young L sat in a chair in a corner with his knees pulled to his chest in the usual way while he watched Mr. Wammy, his guardian, tend to a young girls head wound.

Earlier that day when Wammy had taken L to the small town nearby for an outing, insisting he needed fresh air, he had noticed the girl lying on a park bench apparently sleeping. It struck him as unusual that such a young girl would be alone out side that late in the day. As he got closer, however, he noticed the side of her face starting at above her temple was dripping with blood. They quickly got her back to Wammy's House bringing them to now. She seemed to have a concussion but they had no way of knowing for how long she had been unconscious. However, considering most of the blood on her face was dry she probably had been out for a while.

"L, keep an eye on her while I go get more bandages. Call for me if her condition changes," Wammy asked of him before leaving the room.

L sat watching with curious eyes the girl that appeared to be in her early teens like himself. She had long dark mahogany hair that was twisted and mated sprawled across the pillow as if it hadn't been brushed in days. Her tanned skin was smudged with dirt and littered with small cuts and bruises.

Whatever had happened to this girl it hadn't been pleasant. Being the curious genius he was this girl piqued his interest. He wanted to know whom this girl was and why anyone would leave a girl her age alone, battered and bruised in the middle of the park with an obvious concussion. Of course, growing up in an orphanage, he was used to stories such as these and they were not unheard of but it didn't mean he liked the idea. It always unnerved him how people could treat others this way especially children.

* * *

The girl in the bed stirred just beginning to wake. Her eyelids fluttered open reveling confused captivating blue-green eyes. She was surprised to find herself in a room and in a bed. She had no idea how she had gotten there and the thought made her panic. She sat up quickly only to make herself dizzy and clutch her head. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as the room spun. When she opened her eyes, she screamed in shock of a person staring intently at her no more then a foot away from her face.

"Good. Your awake I see. Though I'd advise you remain lying down," the boy with dark hair and eyes remarked without emotion. All she could do was stare wide-eyed back at him. She was startled and started to panic again.

"Wh-where am I?" she asked while thoughts ran though her head of how to get out of the situation.

"You are at an orphanage called Wammy's house," he explained.

_Orphanage?! _She thought just as the door to the room open with and old man entering. She thought fast thinking of any liable excuse she could use to escape the problem she found herself in.

"You're awake. How does your head feel?" the old man asked. The question confused her. Besides a little dizziness and a small headache, she felt fine.

"What are you-" she started as she lifted her hand to her head to probe her skull and immediately flinched, "Ouch"

The old man smiled and responded, "Judging by the look on your face and your reaction the medication is doing its job. Can you tell me your name so I can get in touch with your parents?" The question was one she was hoping he wouldn't ask but it was bound to come. She couldn't tell them her name, she couldn't go home not after she'd runaway. She did the only thing she thought would work if she could pull it off.

"My name?" she questioned acting confused.

"Yes. I think it wise to inform your parents of your situation."

She slowly widened her eyes in mock panic and they reacted the way she had hoped.

The old man's expression turned to a look of worry and he asked softly, "Can you remember your name?"

She looked down at her lap getting tears to prick at her eyes. Her sister always said she was a good actress, though at the time it hadn't been a compliment. "I-I can't remem-ber. I can't remember an-anything. It's all b-blank." She then let her forced tears fall.

* * *

L sat up on the end of the bed watching the crying girl while Wammy tried to comfort her. She couldn't remember? It aggravated him that he couldn't satisfy his curiosity. This girl was a complete mystery even to herself. It was a puzzle to him that he had to solve.

Coming up with his first step of action he spoke, "We should check the missing person reports. You may be in one of them."

She gazed up at him with teary eyes, "What if you can't find me there?" the question confused him for a moment. It didn't seem like the right question she would ask. It almost sounded like a challenge as if she didn't want to be found.

When he open his mouth to respond to the somewhat 'challenge' Wammy spoke first cutting him off.

"We will figure that out if we reach that point. As for now you should get cleaned up for dinner. I'm sure your hungry. The bathroom is through that door and I'll have someone bring you up a fresh pair clothes. I'll send someone for you before dinner. If you need anything come ask me, my name is Mr. Wammy," Wammy walked back towards the door and opened it a crack, "We'll give you some privacy." L took this as his cue to leave and hopped off the bed and headed to the door. But before he left he took one more at the girl. He was intrigued with the challenge her presence presented him. He was going to find out who she was. He wouldn't be satisfied till he did.

* * *

Yeah I am starting it off before the death note and Kira thing but it is important I start here and I won't make it boring (I don't think. You guys have to tell me if it does). So please review and tell me what you think!

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	2. Search

Thanks TechieGoddess and methegirl for the reviews. I really love the support they help me write faster. Anyway I hope you like this chapter as well. It explains more about my OC. Enjoy and please Review!!

* * *

::Running Away::

:Truth:

Once she was completely sure they were gone, she gingerly climb out of bed. She went to take a shower to get the dirt and grim off. She couldn't remember the last time she took a real shower like this.

She had runaway five months ago. The only times she would have to clean herself were if she was near a river or found a public pool she could go for a swim in. Very rarely was she able to sneak into a school or other public facility that had showers. She reached up to feel the wound on her forehead. She didn't think she had been hit that hard, but then again it did make her black out.

She remembered that, the night before she was confronted by the other runaways she was staying with in the area. They wanted her bag. There wasn't much in it but in their world the most mediocre things could mean a lot. It was hardly a fair fight. Four-to-one. She had held her own fairly well. She probably would have won too, if that one kid hadn't gotten a rock. She figured they had taken her bag but it was worth it when she thought about how they would have to decide who got what when they split the loot.

She quickly got out and dried herself off. When she reentered the room, sure enough, just as the man had said, there was a pair of clothes sitting on the bed. It was a pair of gray capris and a light blue T-shirt. She went back to the bath room to comb out her hair in the mirror. Her wet locks hung around her face in a deep almost black color. Her now clean tanned skin glowed with the sun kissed look that most Spaniards had.

She started to wonder how she had come to be here. So far from where she started but so close to home. She was in Spain when she ran away, at her family's second home. She had some how made it to France after that and stayed there for sometime. She liked France there was always somewhere new to go, something new to see. It wasn't until about two months ago when she met some other kids like her that said there was a place they could go where they didn't have to try so hard to stay alive. Of course she jumped at the idea. Living on the streets wasn't easy especially for a young girl. The catch was that they all had to go to London.

They made it there by way of train and soon found out that this safe haven for runaways wasn't all it was cracked up to be. But it was better then no where. Sometimes the people running the place recruited kids for jobs they had. Odd jobs like being a messenger or delivery boy and other things of the like. It was obvious that they were a gang or some underground dealers but as long as no one asked any questions everyone was fine and could do whatever they wanted.

That's how she had ended up in Winchester. Her group had been assigned to deliver some messages to certain people for an unknown reason. A little more than halfway from London to Winchester was her hometown of Alton. It was too close for comfort but she knew no one would ever find her. However, she was worried about what that boy said about checking the missing person reports. She didn't know if she would be apart of Britain's missing persons considering she ran away in Spain but she couldn't be sure. Her out burst earlier wasn't a smart move for her cover either and she thought she saw the boy give her a strange look. If worse came to worse she could just run away again.

A knock came to the door and she called them in. A girl about her age came in and said it was dinner time and escorted her there. She got her food and went to sit down but paused. She looked around but didn't know where to sit. She didn't know anybody and she didn't see the boy from earlier. She wasn't really a shy person but most of the time people didn't like her and she didn't want that to happen again. The girl that brought her to dinner waved her over and she went to sit at her table.

"So, you must be new here?" the girl asked and she just nodded.

"What's your story?" a boy sitting across from her asked.

"I don't know," she lied sticking with her excuse, "I got hit on the head and woke up here only about an hour ago. I don't even know my name," she explained gesturing to her head and looking down cast.

"Wow, that's a new one. Haven't heard that one before," another boy said.

After that they explained to her how Wammy's house worked. How it was an orphanage for exceptionally smart children to better their skills and become an asset to the world one day. It sounded interesting to her and she decided it wouldn't be to bad to stay here. Her only problem was that she probably wasn't smart enough to get in. Her brother was the only one that had ever called her smart and he had died five years ago.

But that aside, her curiosity got the better of her and she asked, "Do you guys know a kid that has dark hair and dark eyes and sits kind of funny?" they looked at her strange for a minute until the girl answered her,

"I don't think we do but there's a lot of kids here. You should ask Mr. Wammy he knows everybody here."

"Thanks," she responded standing up to go look for him.

"No problem…um…_no name_," one boy said snickering at the end. _Great, _she thought, _another nickname. _she walked towards what she assumed to be the main office and soon found Mr. Wammy.

"What can I do for you, miss?" he questioned.

"I was wondering if you could tell me where I could find the boy from earlier. He wasn't at dinner and he is the only one I kind of know."

"He doesn't come out of his room much. It's on the fourth floor, third door from the stairs if you want to go find him but he's not very social."

"Oh, ok, thanks," she said before running off.

She wanted to find him to figure out what he was going to do to figure out her identity. She figured if he didn't come out for dinner then he would be hungry so she ran back to the cafeteria. Most of the food was being picked up by then and she was at least able to snag a red apple. Then she scurried up four flights of stairs to the forth floor. She knocked on the door but there was no answer so she waited a moment then knocked again. Still there wasn't an answer and after the third knock she stuck her head in through the door. It was really dark and the only light came form a computer sitting on the desk in the corner. It seemed all the rooms had computers because even hers had one which was unusual for an orphanage.

"What do you want?," the figure sitting in front of the computer asked. He seemed a little strange but she entered anyway, replying,

"I noticed you didn't come down for dinner so I asked Mr. Wammy where I could find you so I could bring you some food." he turned to look at her and she handed him the apple and he took it with a soft, "Thank you." She sat on the end of his bed which didn't look like it was used that much.

After a few moments of silence she spoke up, "What's your name?"

He didn't look back at her but replied, "L."

"El? Is that short for Elliot or something?"

"No, L as in the letter."

That threw her off for a minute. There was no way that could be his real name.

"L? No way. Look, if you didn't want to give me your real name and settled for an alias instead couldn't you have come up with a more believable one? There's no way L can be your real name."

"So what if it isn't. Why should I tell you my name if you won't tell me yours?" he retaliated. She was about to tell him off by saying she never said she wouldn't tell him her name but then she remembered she wasn't supposed to know her own name. He was scrutinizing her now watching her facial features. He wasn't going to get her that easily,

"Fair enough," she replied. He nodded and turned back around. He was going to be tricky, she had to watch out around him. She couldn't slip up when he was around or he would surely notice.

"What are you doing?" she asked walking over to look at his computer screen. There were a list of pictures with descriptions and dates next to them on it. "I'm looking through the missing persons files attempting to find you. Are you possitive you don't remember anything?"

"Yep, not a thing," she responded looking at the specifics on the screen. He had the files narrowed down to her description. "Have you found anything?" she wondered.

"Not as of yet," was his quick response.

"Do you need any help?"

"No. I can manage on my own, thank you, but you can stay if you want."

She just nodded and pulled up the extra chair in the room to the desk and sat there watching the screen with him. After a while the dates of the missing persons got farther away and past the date of when she ran away. She was tired and her eyes were sore from staring at the screen for soon long. She yawned and turned to him.

"I'm tired I think I'll go to bed now." He didn't respond just nodded and she walked towards the door. "See you tomorrow, _L_."

* * *

So what do you think? Like it, Hate it? Is it moving to slowly? What's your opinion?

I need these Reviews!!!!!! Otherwise I can't make it better. Review.


	3. Friends

I want to first say I'm sorry I know it has been a long time since I update but my explanation is simple and honest: I will probably never update anything in the month of October. It is the beginning of the busiest time of the year for my family and the end of a grading period at my school. I am always swamped that month. But no worries that month is over and a lot of school breaks as well.

The next thing I want to say is that you guys are great I love all the review I got from you. It really raised my spirits. I love hearing from you even if it is something critical. Keep up the great feedback! I'd love to hear from you again and other who haven't reviewed yet!

* * *

::Running Away::

:Friends:

* * *

The next morning when she went down for breakfast she immediately spotted out the girl from before and her friends. She sat down at the end of there table but no one said anything to her.

After a few moments she decided to speak up herself, "Good Morning, everyone."

They all turned to look at her some giving surprised 'Oh's others returning the greeting but the boys from last night gave a cocky grin and responded, "Morning, no name."

She knew they were just teasing her but it still bugged her. "Are you going to persist in calling me that?" she grumbled.

"Yeah, it's not nice to be calling her that. You should just knock it off," the blonde girl at the table scolded.

"What? She doesn't have a name. What am I supposed to call her? And its not like I'm calling her something bad," he retaliated.

The blonde girl just rolled her eyes at him and ignored him. The boys laughed and high-5ed each other at their assumed 'win'. Suddenly a girl at the other end of the table gasped standing quickly, "Guys, look what time it is. We are going to be late!"

They all scampered away leaving her all alone at the table. She looked down at her tray and sighed; she wasn't hungry anymore. She picked a few things off her tray and threw the rest away. She headed to the stairs to go find L.

She knocked twice and when there wasn't an answer she walked in on her own. L was still sitting at his computer where she left him last night.

"Good Morning, L. I brought you breakfast."

He turned to look at her with a semi-surprised look answering, "Thank you. I didn't think I would see you this early."

"Well I wanted to see how you were doing. Have you figured out my name yet?" she questioned hoping for a negative.

"Not yet. I was thinking of checking into other nations since you look to be of some Spanish decent."

She slightly panicked looking for an excuse to stop him. If he checked in Spain he would defiantly find her. "I don't think that will help," she quickly said.

He looked at her quizzically urging her to go on. "Well, for one do you really think a girl my age could make it all the way here to Winchester from Spain."

He looked at her with calculating eye but didn't seem persuaded with her excuse. She quickly scrambled to find another without letting her hast and panic show. "And two they speak Spanish in Spain and I'm clearly speaking English not to mention my British accent." She had him there. She had a slight accent thought it was diluted from switching countries so often but it was still there.

He nodded agreeing with her, "I'll just look deeper then maybe your not in the missing persons but a cold case instead."

She sighed when he turned around. That should buy her more time to decide what to do. "So what does everyone do around here?" she asked not wanting to stare at the computer screen all day.

"There are classes during the day like school."

She mouthed an 'Oh' realizing that must have been where everyone was going this morning.

"Why aren't you in class, then?"

"I don't have any. I already finished the required courses."

Her eyes widened in shock, "What? You can't be much older then I am. How did you accomplish that?"

"Without interruptions," he answered shooting her a look over his shoulder. She wasn't stupid she got the hint. She walked over and flopped down on the bed.

It never failed. No matter where she went people always got annoyed at her when she asked questions. She hated it. She was curious and wanted to know things. Could they really blame her for that?

Well obviously they could because they always did. She had learn over the years to let it go, though. She learned it was better to just keep her mouth shut and be quiet like a good girl.

After a while of sitting there she had come up with a new string of questions in her head but she didn't feel like getting scolded for talking like she had so many times in the past. So she looked over at L and figured he wasn't going to get anywhere soon with the false lead. She hopped up and walked out of the room in search of the one place that could calm her raging mind, a library, if they had one.

She stumbled upon it on the first floor. She assumed there had to be one in a house full of geniuses but she didn't expect it to be that big. It was nearly as big as the cafeteria. Walking in she didn't know where to start.

She liked fiction books but she would always get addicted and would get distracted for long periods of time. Culture and psychology book were an interest to her but she had already read through the ones at her local library and libraries she snuck into on the run. She didn't think she would find any new ones here. Her new favorites, however, had been puzzle books. She found them everywhere she went and they were very fun. It always gave her something to do and it seemed as if the amount of them were endless.

It took her about an hour but she tracked down some of the puzzle books in the library. She grabbed the few they had and carried them back up stairs to L's room. She knocked twice and walked in.

He didn't turn around when she came in so she just plopped the books down on the bed and looked over his shoulder to see where he was at. Once she was sure he was still heading down a dead end she started on the puzzle books. It took her only a half an hour to finish the first section of the book she started on and from there she took off.

Before long she had various papers scattered around her and was laying with her feet towards the head board. She was so absorbed in the books she lost track of time and didn't notice L turn around in his chair. He had grown bored of looking for her through the databases, something very unlike him. There was something off about all of it. Her words didn't always add up correctly.

He stared at her for the longest time trying to figure out what it was about her that bothered him. She was very odd and she couldn't stay still for more then two minutes. The puzzle books she was solving were way beyond her level with types of math no girl her age should know. She had a soft smile on her face that slightly grew every time she finished a problem. Her feet were beating in the air to an imaginary beat.

Though he did not have much comprehension of the concept, he believed she was what most would consider beautiful. He knew what the word meant by definition, aesthetically pleasing, attractive to the senses, most commonly explained by symmetry, consistency, and uniqueness, but he could never recognize it himself. He concluded it was from his objective view of things and always left it at that. However, he was vaguely able to understand when looking clearly at her.

He decided to break her captivation in the books once it had gotten later.

"You appear to enjoy those books."

She flicked her gaze up to him surprised to see him studying her.

"Yeah. I love puzzle books, but there doesn't seem to be that many in the library. And lots of them have the same old questions I already learned the answers to."

This time L knew there was something wrong with the way she said that sentence. It caused him to pause and stare at her for a few moments to deduce his growing theory. She looked innocent enough as if what she said hadn't implied she remembered her past. He was wary of her but he didn't have enough proof yet that she was lying.

"If you ask Wammy I am sure he could get you some more difficult ones."

"Really, he would? That would be great," she exclaimed with wide eyes and a slowly growing smile but it soon faltered, "But I probably won't be here for much longer. So it wouldn't matter."

Again her statement bothered him. There was definitely something she was hiding from him. "What makes you think that? I have yet to find you in any databases," he stated trying to get a reaction from her.

She hesitated for a moment before looking at him and shrugging.

He turned back around to the computer and bluntly stated, "Dinner started a half an hour ago." Within the next few seconds she was gone, running to not miss dinner.

* * *

She yawned as she entered the dinning hall the next morning she had stayed up late to finish the puzzle books from the library. She hadn't meant to but before she'd known it, it was 3am. She got her food and sat down at the usual table.

"Hey no name, do you want to come play a game with us outside today?" She turned her head to the person talking to her, it was the blonde girl from before.

She looked at her shocked that someone had invited her to play with them.

One of the boys across from her laughed, "Ha-ha, I bet she doesn't even remember what a game is." She scowled at him as one of the other girls hit him to shut him up.

"Sure I'd like that," she answer the blonde.

"Great meet us outside around noon, ok?" The girl responded before getting up and heading to class with everyone else.

She run up stairs to give L his breakfast but told him that she wasn't going to stay today because she had things to do. Then she went back to her room and gathered up all the puzzle books she did that night and returned them to their rightful spot in the library. She had a little while before she had to go outside so she decided to take L's advise and talk to Mr. Wammy about the books.

She found his office quickly and found him sitting at his desk.

"Mr. Wammy could I ask you something?"

He smiled sweetly at her, "Of course my dear what is it that you need?"

"Um, I was wondering where I might be able to get hard puzzle books?"

"If you go to the library there are quite a few there," he responded.

"I know. I have already done all of them and I was wondering if I could get harder ones cause the ones in the library were too easy."

"You have finish all of them already?" he asked astonished.

"Um…Yeah, I should have paced myself better but they were so easy I've already gone thorough them. L said I should ask you if I wanted more," she shyly explained.

A soft smile returned to his face, "I understand I'm sure I could get you some harder ones."

Her bright smile lit her face, "Thank you very much Mr. Wammy. I'll see you later I have to go meet some people in the yard." Then she ran out of the room leaving a very intrigued inventor.

* * *

A little later, Wammy made his way up to the third floor to talk to one exceptionally smart teen. He knocked politely before entering and found the genius sitting in the chair by the window staring out at the yard.

"Good afternoon L," Wammy started catching the boy's attention.

L turned toward Wammy with his thumb resting on his lower lip and a dejected look in his eyes. His usual appearance when he was intently thinking on a subject.

"Good afternoon.," he responded, slowly coming out of his thoughts.

"Have you found any information on the girl?"

L narrowed his eyes before answering, "No, but there is something amiss about her. I don't have any proof yet but I don't believe she has lost all her memories."

Wammy widened his eyes in surprise, "Really. Well keep me informed. I came, however, to get your opinion on something. The girl told me she finished all of the problem solving books I the library. If the is true I would like to have her take the admission test to the orphanage. What is your view on that?"

L turned back to the window placing his thumb back on his lip and looked out at the kids playing in the yard, the girl in the center of it all.

"She will past the test I'm sure. But I want to keep an eye on her. She is hiding something."

Wammy nodded, "Very well. I'll inform her tomorrow about the test."

* * *

By the time she made it outside all the breakfast kids were there already. There were already an even amount of people out there.

"She is here you guys," the blonde called waving everyone over. "Well looks like we have an odd number so one of the teams will have to have an extra person. Is everyone okay with that?"

The captain of the boys team laughed, "You can take no name as the extra person. She probably doesn't remember how to play soccer anyway." She glared at the boy. She was tired of his remarks. She'd show him not to mess with her.

"Ok. No name is on our team! Come on let's start," the blonde said running toward the center of the field.

She sighed as she followed her team, why did they all have to call her that.

The game started off fairly simple everyone but her had someone to guard and no one would pass her the ball in fear she would lose it to the other team. She felt as if she was just running back and forth down the field. She finally got close to taking the ball from one of the boys but another came up to the side. They pass the ball between them laughing while she tried to kick it away from them.

The boy's goalie jokingly called out to them, "Hey, why don't you let no name have a free shot I'm sure she won't even get close."

They laughed and passed the ball to her right in front of the net.

She new an opportunity when she saw one.

She glared at the boy in front of the goal, he was barely looked like he was trying to block, and growled, "My name isn't no name!"

Then she kicked the ball as hard as she could into the net, nailing the boy directly in the stomach making him keel over. Then she stomped of the field smirking.

* * *

She was tired of it. Tired of people calling her names. Tired of people ignoring her. Tired of being alone. She pounded up the stairs to the third floor, swung open L's door and marched over to the window plopping herself in the chair there. Though L was clearly surprised by her sudden intrusion he remained quiet and turned back to his work.

She finally calmed her frustration down to a simmer and stared solemnly out the window to the kids playing in the yard.

She wondered why her life couldn't be that simple, why she didn't have any close friends. Of course she had people in her past that she could consider friends but she was never close to anyone except her brother.

Though she could be social she was never open with people always keeping the details of her life to herself. And she didn't want to anymore. She wanted a friend.

She turned to look at L whom was typing away at his computer. He was the person closes to her at the orphanage though they barely knew each other she was always spending time with him. If she thought about it she figured she saw him as a friend. Not a close friend but there was a possibility. All she had to do was get him to open up more. She decided that's was what she would do, become friends with L.

First she wanted to ask him something, "L," she called getting his attention, "Would you consider me your friend?"

He looked at her confused for a moment. He didn't know where that had come from and considered it a silly question to ask.

"No," he said emotionlessly.

Her eyes widened enormously in shock, "Why?"

"I simply don't like you. You just a toy for me to figure out that I'll soon get bored with."

Her eyes remained wide because of his bluntness but he saw pain and loneliness flicker across her eyes. It made him feel guilty.

He had never felt guilty before for just stating the truth so he added, "Do not be offended though I don't like most people in general."

She simply nodded and looked back out the window with a solemn gaze.

The girl was infinitely interesting to him. His predicted reaction was that she would leave crying but instead she stayed and remained calm even though his answer clearly touched a soft spot.

* * *

The next morning she again arrived in his room with breakfast. He was confused by her complete lack of detachment from him something he expected after what he had said to her yesterday.

"Why are you here?" he asked bluntly.

She looked at him with confusion tilting her head to the side, "What do you mean? I'm here to give you breakfast like I always do."

"That's not what I meant. Why are you still coming here? I would think after what was said you wouldn't return."

"Well," she started looking down, "I thought about what you said and it doesn't bother me. I'm not sure why you act the way you do but pushing everybody away is sure to make you lonely. I should know. And I can't sit around downstairs all day knowing your up here by yourself. So I don't care if you don't want to be friends with me, you don't have to be but I want to be friends with you. I don't know about you but I don't want to be alone anymore."

She looked up at him with determination shining in her eyes.

He sighed, "You do realize to have a real friendship it can't be one-sided?"

She smirked, "Yeah, I know that but it doesn't mean I can't try and if I doesn't work, well, at least I will learn something from it."

* * *

How was that? It is longer then it normally is. I will have another chapter come out later this week (maybe Wednesday?) to make up for not updating last month. Well review and tell me what you think.

Do you think I am getting L right? Do you like where the story is going? Is there anything I need to work on? What do you think of my OC, the runaway with no name?

Those are some things you can work off of it you don't know what to say.

Please review! Thank you for reading!


	4. Tested

I know its been a long time since I update and I'm really sorry for that but I have no other excuse except that time got away from me. I hopefully have the next chapter finished much much sooner then this one.

Enjoy the much waited for update!

* * *

::Running Away::

:Tested:

* * *

After her little speech she sat down his breakfast plate and pulled up a chair beside him and started eating her own food.

It wasn't lost on L that she was eating in his room instead of the dining hall as usual. However, instead of asking her about it he decided to observe her first, to see what she would do if he didn't bring it up. He wanted to deduce her personality from her behavior. From what he had read on psychology, some teenaged girls bluntly do the opposite of what they normally do in order to bring attention to their problems without sounding like they are complaining. She didn't seem like the type of girl to do that, but he couldn't rule out anything until he had proof against it.

For instance he new she was not shy but instead tolerant (to a certain point of course) of other people. This proof came from her actions during the soccer game the day before.

* * *

While he ran through all the thoughts in his mind, the girl contently ate her breakfast paying him no attention. The looks she received from the breakfast kids today told her she was no longer welcome at their table, hence she was in L's room this morning.

That wasn't the only reason though. Before she left the dining room Mr. Wammy stopped her, he wanted to inform her of a test he would like her to take. It seemed like an odd request but figured L would know more about it and agreed.

She reflexively looked up at him as she thought of him and noticed he was staring at her intently. She looked back down just as quickly. His stare made her uncomfortable, she wasn't expecting it. But, however uncomfortable his stare made her, she refused to be stared at while she tried to hide in plain sight. She did not back down. She looked back up at him with a confused expression trying to convey the meaning, 'why are you looking at me'.

* * *

L noticed her quick look before she looked back down at her food. He interpreted it as embarrassment. A typical reaction.

She looked back up at him no more than a second later. Not a typical reaction.

She looked at him confused. Another typical reaction.

Typical won.

She seemed to be no different than any other person and people were easy to read. He could determine that her next question would be 'why are you looking at me' and she would sound annoyed.

The confused look fade off her face and she looked back down at her plate to spear a grape with her fork. When she looked back up she said, "Mr. Wammy asked me to take a test this afternoon. Do you know what it is all about?" Then she popped the grape into her mouth.

* * *

His left eyebrow quirked up a bit into a barely noticeable look of astonished confusion which immediately extinguished the harsh calculating look in his eyes making her less uncomfortable.

She knew the question would throw him off. From what she had gathered from him in the past few days he was beyond odd.

She knew he was watching her waiting for her to make a mistake. For him to catch her making a mistake he would have to be extremely cunning and smart, which he was. She knew he had probably assessed her reactions through psychological facts and was expecting and certain response from her.

But, he wasn't the only one who knew psychology. She spent months reading up on it. She knew how to get him back for playing such dirty tricks on her. All she had to do was let go of their little staring contest and say something completely off topic (at least to him). This way she also got an answer to her question.

She settled back in her chair looking at him expectantly.

* * *

He watched her intently taking in everything she did. As she leaned back into her chair a small smirk appeared on her face.

She was smug.

Meaning she knew what she was doing by asking that off topic question. What kind of game was she playing? Who ever this girl was she was not your typical teenaged girl. He had been underestimating her. Something he would not do a second time. He needed more information on her. He needed to calculate more of her reactions.

"I'm not sure I know what your talking about," he lied to see how she would respond to an obvious one.

"Don't play stupid with me. It makes you look like your afraid of something. Tell me what you know," she was irritated.

* * *

It was a lie, she knew it and he knew it. So why would he say it. He had to be trying something again, straying from the topic perhaps. She wouldn't let that happen.

* * *

He narrowed his eyes at her. Not the expected reaction.

She had called him a coward for lying to her. Not to mention she sounded upset almost angry meaning she caught on to what he was doing. He wasn't going to get anywhere this way. Maybe one more test. Give her what she wants and see how she deals with a much too easy victory. She will get paranoid.

"Well the test he was probably speaking of was the entrance exam for the orphanage."

Her eyes widened, "There's an entrance exam for the orphanage? And he wants _me_ to take it?!"

L seemed unaffected by her sudden anxiety but was making mental notes of the reactions. He was expecting her to not trust the answer, not to fully except it. She was too smart to be naïve. This girl made no sense.

"Why not?" he commented almost uninterestedly.

"Because!," she answered hastily looking for the right words. He didn't look convinced. "Because… it would be a waste of time and energy."

"I don't see how that can be true. Can you elaborate?" Her answers were vague and obscure but if he pushed her more he was sure he'd get something out of her.

"It would be pointless to test me when I already know I would fail. Mr. Wammy would be wasting his time and resources."

L lifted his thumb to his mouth. Why would she think that? Especially after she completed all the puzzle books in the library in just a single day. "Why are you so sure of that?"

She sighed and gave him an incredulous look, "Cause I'm not smart."

This was what he was looking for, she was frustrated and not paying attention. He would get her on his next question, "What makes you think that?"

She sat straight up in her chair agitated , "Because that's what everybody has alwa…," she stopped realizing what she was about to say and took a deep breath, "How can I be intelligent enough to pass the entrance exam if I can't even remember my name?"

She sighed and picked up her plate, "I'm done. I'll see you later L."

L sat there stunned for a moment. This was the most interesting conversation he'd had in a while. What was she getting at before she caught herself?

The opening door snapped his attention back. "Take the test," he spoke, "I believe you will pass it."

There was a moment of hesitation before the door closed without another word leaving L alone again.

He didn't trust this girl he knew she was lying to him but she was also interesting because it was difficult for him to prove it.

_

* * *

_

__

That was close, that was close, that was way too close,

she thought repeatedly as she walked down the stairs_, __he suspects something doesn't he? He has to, how could he not? But he doesn't have any proof. No proof at all. _

That was close, that was close, that was way too close,

She would have to be careful around him now. She was getting to comfortable around him, letting her concentration slip. This was the best situation she had landed in in a while and she didn't want to blow it because she didn't think before she spoke.

As she pushed the doors to the dinning room open she came face to face with Mr. Wammy.

"Hello there. I was looking for you. Are you ready for your test now?"

She stared at him wide-eyed, "Already?" He just kindly smiled at her until she just sighed, "Ok. Sooner is always better then later."

* * *

Before she knew it she was alone in a room with Mr. Wammy, paper, pencil, and a timer. "You can start when ever you ready. You have 30 minutes to finish what you can on the abstract portion before we move on. Ready?"

She just stared down at the paper and gulped. _No she was not ready. She would never be ready. She couldn't do this, _she thought to herself.

She looked up at him with a pleading look but all she saw was his ever-present smile. She took a deep breathe and looked back down at the paper before squeezing her eyes tightly shut in hopes of removing herself from the situation. She didn't want to look like an idiot when this was all over with. There was no way she could pass this.

'_I believe you will pass it'_, a voice echoed in her mind.

Her eye opened again. That's right, he though her could do it. The impossibly sly, tricky kid upstairs who had already finished school and was probably smarter than she could ever hope to be thought she could so it. The person she was hoping to be friends with. She couldn't let him down. Friends trusted each other so she would just have to trust him. The first step toward there friendship, as she thought of it.

She looked back up at Mr. Wammy and smirked, "Ready as I'll ever be. Let get started."

* * *

What did you think of this one? Huh? I think I'm going to start ending each chapter with some questions for you guys to bring in more reviews. What do ya think?

1.) Anyone want to chew me out for such a late update? Go ahead, I don't mind.

2.) What did you guys think of this little conversation between L and my OC? Was there anyway I could have made it better?

3.) Did it seem OOC at any point to you?

4.) Any one getting annoyed ( like me) that my OC doesn't have a name yet? Anyone not notice that yet?

5.) Any suggestion for future chapters?

6.) Now a personal request: Could any one give me some ideas for cases L could take before the Kira case? Turns out I'm not the criminal master mind I thought I was. I could use some help and it would get the chapters out faster. Please help!

7.) Any final thoughts about the story/plot or my OC before you become my most favorite person by hitting the 'submit review' button?

Review and I'll update!

*anime0angel*


	5. Name

Firstly, I would like to apologize for not updating last week I forgot. And to be forewarned the next chapter might be late as well cause I don't have a clue what I'm going to do with it. I want L to start a case but like I said in the last chapter I haven't an inkling about what the case will be about, so if I could get some ideas from you The chapter will come out faster.

Hope you enjoy this chapter it is the last one that is part of the introduction of my character and story. After this we will be getting more into the relationship building of L and my character.

* * *

::Running Away::

:Name:

* * *

The morning was peaceful and quite in L's room until she burst through the door pouncing on him and chanting, "I did it! I did it!"

"What did you do exactly? And will you remove yourself from me, now," L monotonously asked as the supposed amnesic girl hung off his ruffled self.

"I passed the test! You were right, I could do it. Thanks so much!"

She let go of him and collapse on her knees at the base of his chair breathing heavily from running up all three flights of stairs.

L looked down at her astonished, "Why are you thanking me? You are the one who completed the test."

She was too fervent too notice L's shocked look as she fell backwards to lay sprawled on the floor while taking deep breaths to calm herself. "If you hadn't said you believed in me I never would have had the nerve to start the test let alone finish it. I never thought I would have passed it but your encouragement helped me do it," she explained smiling at the ceiling.

"I merely meant to point out the probability you had in passing. Encouragement was not my motive behind saying it," L clarified.

She sat up and smiled at him, "All the same. Thank you L."

L felt a smile tug at his lips. He had never got so sincerely thanked for something. Let alone something he never meant to do.

He reached his hand down and asked, "Let me see you scores." She handed him the slightly crumpled papers in her hand before plopping back down on the floor.

L had to admit he was impressed. She did much better then he calculated. Almost as high as his entrance scores, although no one had ever scored as well as he did, she definitely scored within the range of his successors. This girl just kept surprising him and he wasn't sure yet if he was comfortable with that.

The girl on the floor's stomach rumbled and she shot up into a sitting position. "Oh no! I forgot breakfast! I was helping some of the little one get there food when Mr. Wammy gave me my scores. I completely forgot about ours."

She bounced up off the floor heading for the door, "Don't worry. I'll be back in no time!" And with that she was gone.

L could no longer deny it. That girl was relentlessly interesting to him. He would have to keep a close eye on her.

* * *

When she reentered his room she had a plate in each hand and another group of papers in her mouth. She sat the plate full of sweets in front of him and pulled the papers out of her mouth before jumping down on his bed agilely balancing her plate in her hand.

L look at his plate then the girl, "How do you know what I like to eat?"

She look up at him confused before shrugging, "I have been bring you breakfast for the past few days. I guess I just pick up on what you eat and what you don't eat. Speaking of which, why do you only eat sweet things. It can't be good for you."

"The brain's energy comes from glucose. The more sugar you eat the more extensively your mind will process information. And as for health it is all mind over matter."

She snorted, "Like I haven't heard that one before. I don't care if it is mind over matter. You should at least eat something besides sweets every once in a while before you die of a sugar overdose."

"No thank you."

She rolled her eyes before reaching under the bed for the pencil she had left there the other day. The papers she had brought back with her were documents for her to fill out and return to Wammy before the end of the day. Although most of it was simple questions about herself, it was very difficult for her. This was mainly because she wasn't supposed to know much about herself. She wasn't positive on what she should and shouldn't know. She skipped through a lot of it.

"Hey L, what is this 'interest' section for?"

L quickly look over his shoulder at her before turning back to his computer, "It is to assist you in deciding the course path you want to pursue."

"Course path," she mumbled to her self, "So like what I'm interested in huh? Ok."

She held her pencil above the paper for a few minutes before looking back up.

"What was your course path L?"

"Detective," he answer without hesitation. Her eyes grew huge and she quietly gulped before responding, "And how is that going?"

He spun around in his chair and looked her dead in the eyes. They stared at each other for a few moments, scrutinizing the other, deciding what to let the other know. When L finally spoke again it felt like ages since she had heard any sound, "I'm going to become the greatest detective in the world." Again they were plunged into silence.

_What he just said didn't sound like a goal, it was more like a fact,_ she thought to herself.

Finally, she slyly smirked, "Good luck. I hope I get to see the day you achieve that. Though I think you still have a ways to go."

L curiously tilted his head to the side while staring at her unblinkingly.

Her smirk only got wider, "I mean you still haven't figured out who I am yet." His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, that was a taunt if he ever heard one.

She just looked back down at her forms circling things here and there, kicking her feet to an imaginary beat. She had no clue what she wanted to do, she never did. Her interest were spread too far and wide. If there was one thing she liked though she would have to say people. She loved different cultures and customs. She liked how different people thought and acted. Most of all, why their personalities and motives were so different. She was fascinated by people.

Once she was finished, all she had left was personal information, things she wasn't supposed to know. She tapped the pencil against her cheek in thought. Should she just skip it or fill in some of it with stuff she can make up. She looked up at L. Then again why make herself look suspicious when she could have him give her the answers.

"L, what should I do about this section?" she asked waving the information sheet in the air. He snatched the form out of her hand to get examine it. While he looked at the paper she got up and peeked over his shoulder, "There's not really anything I can put down."

"Actually, you can complete most of this," he seized the pencil from her grasps and began circle and jot information in the blanks. "I would estimate you are younger then me but not by much so 13. Physical qualities are simple, stand up straight." She did so and he barely glanced at her before writing down her height. She leaned back over his shoulder to see what he was writing down. There were quite a few things about herself she was surprised to know he knew, such as allergies and adequacy in certain school subjects. She didn't know he paid that much attention to what she did and what she ate.

He was almost done with the sheet when she inquired, "What about my name? I mean now that I'm apart of Wammy's shouldn't I have something to go by?"

That was part of the sheet she had explicitly skipped. She obviously could put her real name, L would get too suspicious but she didn't know what else to put. She had grown up believing names were special, after all everyone only got one and it stay with you your whole life, she couldn't just pick one off the top of her head.

"What do think L? Any ideas about what my name should be?"

He put his thumb to his lip like he always did, she noticed, when he was intently thinking about something. She smirked when she saw this. She didn't expect him to take the question so seriously. She in turn closed her eyes and twitched her nose to the side in thought. She thought of all the names she liked and tried to imagine which one she would want to be called. She soon found herself on the floor again sitting cross-legged. She leaned her head against the bed and tapped her finger against her cheek. It was a hard decision, there were so many names out there but which one fit her.

Finally, L swiveled around in his chair and said, "How about Callie?"

She opened her eyes and looked straight at him. "Callie? Callie," She repeated continuously, testing it out on her tongue to see how it felt.

"I believe it is Greek," L stated trivially.

She continued to repeat it until a smile slowly crept its way across her face, "I like it." She popped up from her place on the floor and stuck her hand out to L.

"It's nice to meet you L. My name is Callie," Callie stated with a goofy grin on her face.

Despite himself, L smirked, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you Callie."

* * *

Well there you have it! From now on I'm moving more into Callie's personality and her relationship with L and to start building the main plot. Now that you have her new name the introduction is over with (at least that is always how I have thought of this part of the story)

Now on with the Review questions!! You don't have to think just answer as many as you can from the top of your head!

1.) What do you think of this chapter?

2.) Do you like the name I have given to my OC? (I'm so glad I can stop writing she/her all the time)

3.) Do you think L and Callie mesh well with each other?

4.) Do you have any ideas for cases L can pursue?

5.) Do you like this story?

6.) What would you like to see happen to L and Callie along the course of their relationship?

If you can answer any or all of my questions it would be much appreciated.

I also plan on making a game out of this. For each question you answer I will give you a kudos (I love that word, it's Greek. lol). Every now and then whoever has the most kudos will receive a prize!(You also get a choice of what it will be) So rack up those kudos people!

People with Kudos so far:

DarkMarionette182 - 2 kudos

KiyUzumaki - 1 kudos

Rainbow27Stardust - 1 kudos

Kioku7 - 2 kudos

Please Review!!!

anime0angel


	6. Leaving

Hey all my faithful readers, I'm so sorry I haven't update sooner. It was the end of the school year for me and I had a lot of test and projects going on and they have been all spread out over the past three months. My school is really weird it requires two final exams for each class. Anyway school ended this Friday and I have summer break for the next two months so I will have all the time in the world to work on the story. Well happy Memorial Day (for you americans out there) and here is the long awaited chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

:Running Away:

::Leaving::

* * *

Today was Callie's first day of school here at Wammy's. It felt weird not spending the day in L's room with him.

After passing the test she spent the rest of the weekend asking him random questions about Wammy's, the people here and, of course, L himself. He answered most of them and the ones he just ignored Callie learned not to ask again.

They fell into a comfortable companionship with L searching for her identity or whatever else he did on that computer and Callie finding things to entertain herself with, may it have been questions or reading a book. The more time she spent in there, the more she grew to understand him and in turn she felt he understood her better as well. Callie knew when she was asking too many questions and was getting annoying and L knew just what to do to get her flustered enough to potentially ruin her façade.

Now, standing in front of her new class while the teacher introduced her, she only wished to go back to that. It wasn't the fact the whole class was staring at her it was the fact some of them were glaring at her. People could stare at her all day for all she cared but angry people terrified her.

Just her luck, the blonde girl and the kid she hit with the soccer ball were in her class.

The teacher let her pick one of the empty seats in the back of the class. Mr. Wammy told her she didn't have to do work that day but she should try her best to get used to the pace of her classes. She was worried all weekend that she wouldn't understand a thing and continually ask L to tell her what she would be learning. He just kept telling her she was making too big a deal out of it and needed to relax, though of course, not in those exact words. He was a bit more condescending about it after the third time she asked.

Classes here at Wammy's were exceptionally weird. Not in the content necessarily but the way they were organized. They had the basics like math and English but they also had a huge variety of classes she had never heard of or thought she would take. Also classes weren't divided by age at all. The math class Callie was in now had kids from all age levels. It was completely unusual to her but she kept it to herself as she walked passed kids half her age to get to her seat.

She got to her seat, sat her stuff down, looked up at the board and decided to take back what she said before. The content of the classes were beyond normal. Written all over the board was college level statistic equations. Callie's eyes widened unblinking at the board. She was only 13 and her old school was only starting to get into pre-algebra and there were 7 year olds in this class.

Once the initial shock was over with she actually looked at the board. Math had always been easy for her. Once you learn the basic processes and order of operations you can do any level equation. Math was math there were no if, and, or buts about it. It was set in stone.

"The probability that all five of them would make it would therefore be 65%" she heard the teacher say once she cleared her mind of all her thoughts.

The complex equation was scrawled across the board in an organized manner. However, Callie felt there was something missing. She worked out the equation in her head while the teacher explained each part in depth.

"That's wrong," she mumbled to her self.

"Excuse me?"

Callie snapped her head up to look straight at the teacher whom had just spoken.

"What was it you just said?" he asked again walking towards her desk.

Callie panicked. She broke the golden rule, never correct or talk back to an adult, no matter how wrong they were. She wanted to smack herself. How many time was she going to get into trouble before she got it through her thick skull that your never supposed to correct someone. She stared at her hands in her lap trying not to make eye contact with the teacher now standing next to her desk. She took deep breaths to slow her racing heart and appear calm.

"Nothing. I didn't say anything," she explained obediently.

"It's alright. What is it that you said? I couldn't hear you." she hesitantly looked at him, "Um… the problem is wrong. It wouldn't be 65%, it would be 45%. You didn't divide the components correctly."

The teacher examined the board for a moment before turning back to her with a smile. "Your right. Thank you for correcting me." Then, he walked away.

Callie was completely dumbfounded. She had never had someone treat her like that before. They normally would have gotten mad and punished her. If this was what this place was like she was liking it more and more.

Focusing back on the board, she noticed she was being watched. Sitting to her right three seats forward was a boy who at first look she thought was L. However after getting a better look at him she realized it wasn't him, though the similarities were striking. He was sitting like L, twisted around so he could stare her down with a look just like L's. But this boy was younger than L and his hair was longer. Even though it still had that bed-head look, it didn't defy gravity as much.

Callie stared right back at him. His eyes were darker then L's and the pupils were smaller. The more she looked at him the more she noticed was different about the two of them but they were still scary alike. He just sat there watching her with no expression on his face at all. It was unnerving, just like L's stare. But as always Callie did not back down, that was not the kind of person she was.

Finally Callie could hear the lesson shift and the teacher noticed their little staring competition in the back, "Alright, we are moving on now everyone please keep your attention up here at the board."

Callie was the first to brake eye contact turning to face the board but then quickly glancing out of the corner of her eye back at the boy. He stared on a while longer before diverting his attention to the board as well. And that was how her first class at Wammy's house went.

Lunch was around noon and it was really short. Callie decided it would be easier to eat in the dinning hall with everyone else instead of going up to L's room like normal, no matter how much she wanted to.

She looked around the room scouting out a place to sit; she was not sitting with those soccer kids. The back right corner she noticed looked to be mostly unpopulated so she headed in that direction.

Once she was back there she noticed the L-like boy from her class was there. She sat down in front of him and he looked up at her. It was almost as if they had picked up their staring competition from where they had left off. However they both knew it could only go on for so long. In the end, Callie smile brightly at him then drew her attention to her food and their lunch continued as such without either of them speaking a word.

* * *

Classes were over by 4:30 and Callie immediately ran upstairs to see L and ask how his day had went. She knocked twice as usual then flung the door open after getting no response and hopped into the room.

" Hey, L how was…" she paused as she look around the room. L's room was sparsely furniture as it was but it seemed less so now and of course the small suitcase did not escape her notice. "What's going on?"

"I'm leaving," he stated blandly. Callie still hadn't moved from her frozen position but her eyes slowly widened.

"When?"

"In an hour."

"Why?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes! I thought we were starting to become good friends but now your leaving? So yes I believe it does matter. Why?" She finally broke her frozen position to sit down on the floor in front of his perch on the chair. She was completely frustrated with his unaffected attitude towards the situation.

"We were not becoming friends. You were becoming friends with me. I believe we agreed this was a one sided relationship. Also, I yet to see how that changes why it matters. I am no more compelled to tell you why I am leaving then before."

Callie wanted to yell at him. He was supposed to be a genius so why couldn't he understand why this was so important to her. She finally found somewhere she could be accepted and started making a friend and now he was leaving before they even had a chance. To say she was upset would be an understatement. She had put her emotions out there and tried to make a true friend for once and now it was just falling through. Could he possible be that socially awkward to not understand? Well she didn't care. She swore she was going to be his friend and that was exactly what she was going to do. She would show him what it was like to have a true friend if that's what it took to keep him around. She didn't want to be alone and she wasn't going to let him be either.

"I don't care if it is one sided you are still my friend and I care. You may not understand why but it does at least matter to me. So quit avoiding the question and answer me?"

There was a pause while L skeptically evaluated her. "I am leaving to pursue my goal in becoming the world's greatest detective. Some cases require that I be in the relative location in which the crimes are being committed," he admitted through some hesitation.

"See was that so hard? Why couldn't you have just told me that before, it would have saved the argument?"

"Because I cannot trust you." That froze Callie on the spot.

"You don't?"

He just stared blankly at her so she took it as a confirmation. A multitude of things were running through her head at that moment. First of which was that he suspected her. Why else wouldn't he trust her. Then there was also their 'friendship'. Friends are supposed to trust each other. If not how can they be friends. But most of all she was thinking of a way to respond because L would expected her to say something to that statement. But if she said the wrong thing she would incriminate herself.

"I see." She said softly then the room got deathly silent.

"Shouldn't you be defending yourself?"

"Should I? Why would you think that?" Callie looked up at him curious.

"Most people would try defending themselves when accused of being untrustworthy, unless of course you agree and your not trying to hide it."

"I'm not most people now am I? I'm not defending myself because your not stupid." She said a little sarcastically, it felt good to act smarter than L sometimes. L raised an eyebrow at her tone that urged her to go on. "I've been around you for a whole week now and if I have learned anything I learned you don't do anything without thinking about it first. So obviously you've put a lot of thought into whether or not to trust me. Me saying anything in protest to that is not going to change your mind."

"What if your defense is solid? You could give me infallible reasons to trust you."

"L, I can barely trust myself. I have no idea who I am or where I came from, what reason could I possibly give you to trust me. And besides you're the type of person who cares about actions more then words."

L only sat staring at her after that, eye's narrowed. He didn't like how she knew that much after only a week. It amazed him that whenever they got into a conversation like this she was always able to respond on par with him. Had he not been as smart as he was he might actually believe her. He chose not to respond to her and instead spun his chair back around to his desk. They both remained silent to soak up the new information they each received.

As per normal Callie was the one to brake the stillness, "Where are you going?"

"I cannot tell you that." L answered without turning to look at her.

"More like don't want too." she mumbled to herself annoyed.

"Yes. That is more accurate." Callie's eyes widened momentarily from shock that he heard her but quickly turned to a glare as she tried to burn a hole in the back of his head.

Finally he turned his head to look at her but she soon wished he had just kept ignoring her. "Glaring at me won't change anything. The action is completely pointless."

Her glare only got worse and she stood up harshly and went to the window. The sun was lowering and kids were heading inside for dinner. The tension between the two simmered down to nothing and Callie calmed trying to enjoy whatever time she had left with L.

"Are you coming back?"

L didn't respond right away. He had yet to decide what he was going to tell her and there was a few moments of silence before he made up his mind.

"Technically, no."

"Technically?"

"Well as far as the other kids at the orphanage are aware I am barely here at the orphanage as it is, but from now on I will not return at all. However in truth I will still return on occasion since by law I am still a ward of the state and therefore not allowed to completely leave until I am either 18 or adopted. Please do not tell anyone the truth of this or who I am."

"Why are you telling me this, then? I thought you didn't trust me?"

"This has noting to do with trust. You are still my puzzle. And until I get the answers to my questions you will most likely see me again. Either I tell you this now or you find out latter."

A knock came to the door and Mr. Wammy calmly stepped in. "Are you ready to go L?"

L simply nodded and walked out the door while Wammy grabbed his suitcase.

"Goodbye, Callie. Until next time."

Callie stood there stunned as the door shut. She wasn't going to lose her friend. He was coming back, no matter his reason behind telling her. She wasn't gong to be alone.

Realizing he was no longer in the room, she quickly ran downstairs and out the front doors. By then all the other children were in the dinning hall and there was no one to wonder what she was doing. Coming out the front doors she saw L just about to enter the back of the car. She ran out to him and threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. L stood stiff in her arms as if he didn't know what to do with the display of affection. Wammy smiled softly before entering the drivers side of the car.

"Goodbye, L Good luck on you case. I'll see you soon."

Then Callie stepped back smiling and stayed there as he drove away.

She wasn't going to lose anyone again.

* * *

There you go. I hoped you liked it. I didn't really like how this chapter turned out, I feel like I was forgetting something while writing it.

Well here are the questions for this chapter:

**1.) What did you think of this chapter?**

**2.) Could you tell this chapter was slowly written bit by bit not in order? (I ask cause I don't think it flows right)**

**3.) What is your opinion on L leaving?**

**4.) Have I made any contradictions with Callie's character or do you like how she is?**

**5.) Is there anything specific you like about the story or anything you want to see happen?**

My Kudos game is still going on! Remember you get one kudos for every question you answer and the one with the most kudos at the end of the game will receive a prize. (I'm thinking the prize will be a special one-shot just for the winner.) And I'm not going to tell you when I will end the game so you better get as many as you can.

And for my lateness anyone who reviews will get a kudos in addition to the questions. (so you don't have to answer a question to get a kudos)

Thanks Everyone!

I'll update again soon!

anime0angel


	7. Case

Hey everyone, so it has been a long time since I've added anything to this story. A lot has happened in my life and now I'm just getting done with my first year of college. I've never really stopped thinking about this story and I think I want to try and finish it. I recently found a lot of old docs on my computer with this story on it and i do roughly remember where I was going with it. So heres to finishing up this thing!

* * *

**::Running Away::**

:Case:

* * *

_It was a dreary day. The day after a large storm when the clouds seemed to cover the entire world never to let the sun in again. A little girl in the back of an old family car stared out the back widow with her bright sea blue eyes, curious about how the clouds would feel if she could touch them._

"_Mom, there is something I have been wanting to talk to you about."_

_The little girl focused her attention to the front of the car where her older brother and mother sat. She always liked to know what was going on and she hung to every word that her brother said. Her mother nodded her head for him to go on and he took a deep breath. "Well since I'm graduating at the end of the year and I already have a job, I'm going to move out. I won't be dependent on you and dad anymore." The little girl's eyes widened and started to water. He had already told her about it but she didn't think he would leave her so soon. She still needed him. Her mother's hands tightened on the wheel. He continued on after a short pause and a cautious look towards the driver, "I already found a place. I've made up my mind I will be out before the end of the week."_

_The girl leaned as far forward as the seat belt would allow and grabbed her brother's shoulder. "You said you wouldn't leave until the end of the year," she wined. Her brother looked at her sympathetically, "I know but-"_

"_She knew about this! Did Bell and your father know? Were you all just keeping me from this until the last possible second?" Their mother hollered at him. Her hands tightened on the wheel until her knuckles turned a deathly white. "No mother she was the only one I told. You need to calm down your scaring-"_

"_Calm down. Calm down! How do you expect me to do that when my family is plotting against me?" The girl shrunk back into the seat and pulled her legs to her chest. "Momma, stop yelling," she whimpered._

"_Don't Momma me. I see past your lies, you deceptive brat. Your out to get me with the rest of them," her mother hissed quickly accelerating. "Mother! Snap out of it. That's not what is going on. Pull the car over!" Her brother tried to steady the wheel but his hand was smacked away. "I will not pull over. Not until you tell me who is behind this. How could a son leave his mother? Your leaving me so they can get to me?" She was hysterical now and was barely keeping straight on the road._

"_Mother stop! Remember what Dr. Keller said? What ever you think is going on here it's not."_

"_I am not crazy. You're all lying to me. I know what is going on here."_

"_Then why are you scaring us? We haven't done anything, momma," the little girl shouted back. Her brother reached back to her and patted down her hair. "Sweetie, calm down. I'll take care of this. Don't be scared."_

"_No!" her mother wailed, "I won't let you keep lying to me. I won't let you leave me. I'll show them not to mess with me."_

"_Mother, No!" her brother anxiously reached for the wheel. The young girl screamed as the car jerked sideways and then there was the tree._

* * *

Callie sprang forward in bed completely covered in sweat and shaking. She hated that nightmare. She couldn't escape it. She had been lucky that the past few nights had been dreamless, but now they were back and with a vengeance. Every night since the accident she had the dreams. Sometimes they were good but most were bad. However, since she arrived at Whammy's she thought they were gone for good, apparently not. Once she calmed down and was able to push the memories to the back of her mind she looked at the clock. 5:02. Classes didn't start for a few more hours. There was no way she was getting back to sleep after that. She doubted there would be anyone awake at this time but in this place you never know.

Callie slowly opened her door and snuck down the hall. Once she got to the stairs without seeing or hearing anyone, she figured it was safe enough to walk around normally. She took a step down before stopping and looking up. L had been gone for a week now. She had already been in his room once since he left but there was no trace whatsoever that he had ever been there. She doubted she'd find anything new. She sighed and headed down the rest of the stairs.

After looking both ways at the bottom of the steps she headed towards the kitchen. Callie figured she could grab a snack before the cooks came in for breakfast. The halls seemed so haunted without anyone moving about. It was that time in the morning right before the sun breaks the horizon; when the world feels completely empty of all life.

Callie turned left down one of the smaller hallways, heading towards the back way into the kitchen. Classrooms facing the side yard lined the hallway. Some of their doors were open and she could see the soft glow from the soon-to-be-rising sun through the windows. Halfway down the hall something in one of the rooms caught her eye. Callie doubled back and peaked her head inside. There on the far side of the room was a shinny black piano that reflected the light from outside. She slowly walked in.

Callie had never seen a piano that nice except in pictures. She looked back towards the door. No one would be up for a little while now. No one would notice if she played around a bit.

She sat down at the piano and gently ran her fingers over the keys. They were beautiful, perfect and smooth. She pressed one down and just listened to the sound, and then she pressed another. A wide smile spread across her face. Back at her old school she never even stepped foot into the music room, now she couldn't understand why. The sounds it made were incredible. Callie started hitting all the keys, one by one, down the row. Every key's sound perfectly fit perfectly together. She fixed herself in the center of the stool and pressed random keys to hear how they would sound together. Before long she started to notice patterns in the keys; which two keys would sound good together and which wouldn't. She made up little melodies in her head and tried to match them on the piano.

"Very beautiful!" someone commended just as Callie heard clapping. She quickly stood up, almost knocking over the stool. She was completely petrified at being caught. "Why did you stop?" the teacher, walking farther into the room, asked.

"I know I shouldn't be in here messing with stuff. I'm really sorry, sir, it won't happen again," Callie quickly responded while twisting her hands behind her back. She desperately prayed that she wouldn't get in much trouble.

The teacher smiled knowingly, "Nonsense, you can come in here whenever you would like. Have you played the piano before?"

Callie almost stuttered. That was the second time that had happened. She was praised for something she would have gotten punished for back home. Maybe this place really was different. "No, sir. I've never played one before."

"Amazing, that's really something. Tell me, would you like to learn?"

"Excuse me?" What did he mean, 'did she want to learn'. Was he asking how much she like it or was he offering to teach her?

"It would be a crime to let a talent like yours go to waste. If you would like I can transfer you into my music class at the end of the day."

Callie's face slowly grew into a grin, " I would like that. I really would."

For the rest of the day the piano was all she could think about. She barely noticed anyone including the L look-a-like at lunch. Who still hadn't said a thing to her during the week or two she'd sat with him. She eventually made it through the day and returned to the music room. It felt so surreal to her. Her new teacher, Mr. Solomon, started her off with the names of the keys and where to position your fingers. All the while, other students practiced their own instruments in other parts of the room. To Callie, the whole afternoon was incredible. It was a moment she never thought would happen and if you had told her a few months ago, she would have laughed in your face.

However it was over to soon. She did her homework, went to dinner, and before she new it was lying in bed looking up at the ceiling. She was a little nervous to go to sleep, knowing the dreams were back. She stayed awake just thinking to herself for a while. Something was still nagging her. Today would make a week since L left and as much as she accepted him leaving she still missed him. He said he would be back but he didn't say when. It could be a few weeks or it could be a few months. Callie decided that would be her mission tomorrow: to get in contact with L.

* * *

Failure.

First thing in the morning she went down the front office to talk to Mr. Roger. However he shot her down. No one was supposed to contact L unless it was an emergency. So unless she found herself an emergency she would have to find another way. She spent the whole day in class thinking of ways to contact L or at the very least find out where he was. Her thoughts kept drifting back to the same conclusion, the computers. Only she had no clue how to work one. This drawback continued to bother her all day until she got to lunch.

She was picking through her food her mind completely focused on her self-imposed mission and its supposed obstacles when a flash of inspiration hit her. She snapped her head up to her ever-present lunch partner and L clone. "What do you know about computers?" He just stared back at her for a moment, which only made sense to Callie after she realized this was probably the first thing she had said to him. "Why," was his response after a few moments. She hesitated; she told L she wouldn't say anything to anyone about him but she needed help in finding him. So as what was becoming common for Callie, she lied, "I need to get information for homework and other… extracurricular activities and I've heard the computer is the best way to get it. Only problem is I have no idea how to work one. About the best I can use the one in my room for is to play solitaire. I was hoping you could teach me some of the more relevant uses." He stared at her in a curious way before swiftly nodding his head. "Of course, when would you like to start?" Callie let a smile cross her face at her first step to success. "If it's not to much trouble could we start today? I can meet you at the main staircase at 4 o'clock." He nodded once more and went back to his food.

* * *

Callie ran through the halls of the school. She had gotten carried away during piano practice and almost forgot about her 4 o'clock meeting. Mr. Solomon believed she was ready to take the next step and gave her sheet music to practice as 'homework'. She arrived at the main staircase just about five minutes after four.

"Your late," he stated dully while sitting on the staircase.

"What! Only by a few minutes. And I ran the whole way here."

"Well you should have left earlier."

Callie gave him a pointed glare before… "Oh wow…" Callie in complete frozen shock, "All this time and I've realized I never asked you what your name is. I'm so sorry. My name is Callie by the way."

"It's not a problem. My name is B."

Callie stared at him wide eyed for a moment before she threw her head back and groaned. "Seriously! What is with this crazy house and letters!"

Over the next few weeks Callie and B spent their evenings together in front of a computer. Callie quickly developed a skill for programming and caught on to everything B taught her very fast. She'd spend the rest of her nights searching the Internet and data for anything that would be useful in finding L. She soon learned that finding him wouldn't be that simple. She would have to find more creative ways of locating him. This search took up most of her time and would only sleep once deprivation won out. It kept the nightmares away enough that her tiredness was worth it.

If there was one thing she learned over those short weeks was that B was nothing like L and was at least a hundred times stranger. While he did seem to have similar mannerisms to L that was were the likeness stopped. He was very aloof and although L was to at least he would have a conversation with her. B on the other hand completely kept to himself and would share nothing. Not only that but he would say the strangest things about people or her sometimes. Things that just didn't make sense or at least sounded like he was living in some other world. Besides that he remained silent and only spoke to her during their lessons.

It wasn't long until Callie's new method of tracking L developed a few leads. She started looking through news reports and knowing L like she did he wanted a puzzle. So she looked for anything that caught her eye and what did that was a string of murders of prominent musician in Eastern Europe. Callie started there she looked in to the settings of the murders and the victims themselves and before she knew it she had a theory. Although she didn't necessarily solve it she figured she had a good idea. Her next step was to contact L.

* * *

The next morning she went downstairs for breakfast then immediately to Mr. Roger's office.

"I need to speak with L. It's an emergency. I need to confess something to him. Tell him I'll give him his answers."

Mr. Roger sighed, "It doesn't work that way Callie."

She smiled, "Sure it does. I grantee if you call him right now he will be happy to hear for me. He has been waiting for this."

He stared at her for a while before grudgingly complying to her request. He picked up the phone dialed a number and sat back giving her not the most pleasant of looks. "Hello, Mr. Wammy? I have Callie in my office at this moment asking to speak with L. She said it was an emergency and she had something to confess."

For a moment he seemed shocked by Wammy's answer before handing the phone to the young girl sitting in his office.

"Hello," she said in a quite giddy manner since her plan had worked. She was worried it wouldn't.

"Yes please stay on the phone Miss Callie while I transfer you to L."

He went of the line after that and she sent a smug look to Mr. Roger while relaxing back in an extra chair.

"Hello Callie. I was not expecting this from you so soon? Why have you changed your mind?" L greeted her on the phone. He sounded unusual on the phone almost like he was disappointed.

"Hi L. How are things going for you out East? Are you having a good time? To be honest I'm really missing you here. You have been gone for almost a month."

"Callie what is the purpose of this call?"

"I just want to catch up. Like I said I miss you. It's not as interesting here without you."

"You claimed you were going to confess. If that is not your purpose then what are you doing?"

"Well I was thinking a lot about what you said and the only reason you wouldn't trust me, I think, is because you think I have done something wrong or am lying to you. Plus you said you were looking for answers that obviously only I have. Well I figured if I claimed I was going to tell you whatever it is you want to know it would be a sure fire way of getting in contact with you. Smart isn't it? Though I still don't know what it is you want from me."

"What do you want?" L said clearly annoyed.

"Did you know there was a music room in this place, with a piano?"

"Callie," he said in a clearly warning voice, but she just kept on going.

"The teacher said I picked it right up," she replied nonchalantly.

"I will hang up on you."

"Hold on. Can't I just catch-up with a friend? You've been gone for almost a month now and I've heard nothing from you. You never told me how long you'd be gone; I'm starting to really miss my friend. Besides I have a point to all of this, promise." There was silence on the other side and since he hadn't hung up, Callie continued.

"I'm so excited to learn. I really like music. Do you know why that is?"

There was silence for a moment before a sigh and L reluctantly replying, "No Callie why is that?"

"I like it because I can just pick out the patterns and it is soothing to hear the symmetry in it. Music has so much to do with math and it is just incredible what you can do with it."

"And what is the point to all of this Callie?" L was barely holding his agitation together and Callie could hear it in his voice. She knew she had to rap this up soon.

"My point is that music is a very versatile thing and it might help your case if you checked their music."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a very long time. Callie took the lack of a response to continue.

"You might find something in it to connect them together and maybe even their killer."

"Callie how did you come to this conclusion?" L finally responded.

"Like I said I'm really enjoying learning music here at Wammy's House. And I took a few looks at some news articles about the case you are working on. And don't ask how I know what case your working on cause that is a long story that includes a lot of guessing. Besides I'm sure going to have to go here in a minute nut can I just ask you one question? When are you going to be back?"

Again there was a long silence from L's side of the line. "Goodbye, Callie." And then there was nothing. He hung up on her.

Callie spent the next few days disgruntled that L hadn't answered her question but there was nothing she could do about it now. Mr. Roger wouldn't let her use the phone again. However on the third day Callie got a postcard in the mail. It was a picture of a lovely seaside village and on the back is simple scrawl it said, 'Two weeks'. All Callie could do was smile.


	8. Lie

Lie

It was late summer and L had come and gone twice more since the first time he left Whammy's. Since that first time's mishap with the phone call Callie received the privilege to call him whenever she wanted so long as it had relevance to his cases. It turned out that the information she gave L was decisive to solving the case. As of now though L was back at Wammy's and their routine continued as normal. L became much more accepting of Callie being around. Her incessant humming had become a relaxing white noise to his thinking. L was getting frustrated. It had been months and he had found nothing new about her in all that time. Every time he went on a case away from Whammy's he searched very database available to him in the area. It became clear to him soon after his investigation into her started that she was homeless or more likely a runaway. She did not appear on any of the missing persons databases in England.

Callie was unusually happy today. He noticed it the minute she walked in the room with food. She was nearly skipping when she came into the room. She plopped his food in front of him with a smile before jumping onto his bad to eat her own. L turned to her slowly while examining her, "Is there something special today?"

"What?" Callie asked wide-eyed, "Why do you think there is something special today?"

"Because you are happier then you normally are this early in the morning," he explained scrutinizing her. There was something suspicious about her expression. It wasn't the first time she had given him that same expression. It seemed to L as if she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"What a girl can't just be happy?"

L only narrowed his eyes at her before returning to his work. Something was different today. He knew that much and he would figure out what she was up to one way or another.

While Callie was in class she went over the mornings events in her head. She was worried she had been too obvious in her excitement this morning and she knew she did a poor job at covering it up. But who could blame her, today was the day she officially turned 14. Birthdays were always the best when she was a kid with her brother. They were something special to be celebrated. They are the anniversary of your life. Birthdays were her brother's favorite kind of celebration. He wouldn't say happy birthday to someone until exactly at the time they were born. He made birthdays special. And in honor of his memory she kept up his tradition. She made sure she never wasted a birthday.

She had just enough time after class to race to the dinning hall to find her treat before dinner would start being prepared. She had spent most of the night searching for it so she could have her own gift today. She figured with the types of kids in the house plus L's strange surgery eating habits that there had to be one somewhere. She reached the back corner of the kitchen without anyone noticing her. She pulled her birthday cupcake out of her hiding place with an excited smile on her face. Callie quickly darted back up to her room as quickly as possible. She didn't want to be late for her birthday. She sat the cupcake on the desk and dug through her draw for the candle she had found weeks ago in one of the kitchen cabinets. She looked at her clock real quick be for lighting the candle on the cupcake and resting her head on her hands. "Well its time to make a wish Callie," she said to herself. She closed her eyes for a moment before blowing out the candle. "Happy Birthday Callie!" she said with a smile.

"You lied."

Callie jumped up and looked to the door. L stood in the doorway with an expressionless look on his face. She never heard him come in.

Callie hesitated. She didn't know how to approach his emotionless statement. She didn't know what to do. She considered lying for a moment but it was L she would be lying to and there were so many things wrong with that. For one it most likely wouldn't work, he had been waiting for this slip up for months now. Two, when he finds out she lied to him again it will only make things worse. Finally three, he was her friend she didn't want to lie to him as if he was some insignificant fool because he wasn't. She couldn't lie anymore. But she was scared. She didn't know what the truth would bring.

She opened her mouth but the words came out slowly, "Understatement of the year."

"You never had amnesia," he again stated in the same tone.

She smiled nonchalantly attempting to salvage something from her disgrace, "Now that's a bit of a presumption don't you…" One look in his eyes and she couldn't finish, "No I never had amnesia." No matter how much she wanted to lie to make things better she couldn't. Callie knew she brought this upon herself.

"Why did you pretend?" L stated in the same tone. It was driving her insane. She wanted him to stop, to move, blink, use some other tone then he was using now, anything. It was a blunt tone that sounded as if he didn't care or it was unimportant. But, to Callie at least, it almost had an undertone of silent anger or sadness. It made her want to run. But her feet were rooted and she had no choice but to answer. "I- I was scared. I didn't want to be sent home. You can't send me home please," Callie's voice took on a pleading character. L gave her no reaction at all.

"Please, please don't send me back. I won't stay if you do. I'll just run away again. I can't go there again, please." Her eyes begged the blank wall that was L. Callie just stood there waiting for something but nothing came. He didn't say anything not a single thing changed about him. That's when she realized he wasn't going to listen to her. He didn't care. Why should he? He figured out his puzzle. So she ran.

Callie didn't come back the rest of the day. It bothered him more then he cared to admit. No one knew yet. About any of it. They didn't even know she left the orphanage. L just sat unmoving in his room. It was one of the very rare times he didn't know what to do and he had been trying to think it through ever since she left. The thing that bothered him the most was that he didn't know if she was coming back, where she was, or if he would ever see her again. He hated the thought but he had gotten attached to her presence. When the truth came out he felt numb, he thought it was over, the puzzle was solved. But when she told him the truth she kept her eyes on his. The average person would look away. When caught telling a lie most can't face the people they lied to, they can't look them in the eyes. She was a completely different person. She was someone who broke all the expectations, who was completely unpredictable. He hadn't even come close to solving the puzzle but by the time he realized that, she was gone. Now he was stuck. He wanted, needed, to solve this one and do it without interference. In order to do that, he was willing to go along with her charade. However that was all pointless if she didn't come back. What he didn't know was how to get her back. He didn't know where she was nor could he figure out where she went so he couldn't go searching for her. Waiting seemed pointless because there was a 93% chance she would never return. L looked to the window, it was dusk and night would fall within the next few minutes. If the day passed and she didn't come back she never would. At that very moment two light knocks came to his door. His eyes snapped to the door as it slowly opened. Callie stepped inside and softly closed the door behind her. She held onto the handle behind her back and leaned against the door looking like a cornered animal. "Why did you come back?" L asked in his monotone voice. He was relived she came back, confused as to why, but relived. He kept all of it hidden under his natural stoic mask. She languidly shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. To turn my self in?" Her eyes were devoid of all emotion, he noticed, like she had just been condemned to death. He didn't like it but he kept his gaze, "Why don't you want to go back?"

"Because I'm not wanted there." He gave her a look that clearly said he knew she wasn't telling the whole truth. She took a deep breath and for the first time looked away from his gaze, "because I saw something I wasn't supposed to and I'm afraid that if I go back after I've run away the same thing will happen to me."


	9. Truth

Hey it is guys! Sorry I have been late I had every intention of uploading this weeks ago but with college starting back up I got distracted. I know its been a while since you guys have heard from me but just know that I'm not giving up on this story. I have more motivation for it this year then I have had in a while. I'm at a kind of lull right not but I should be getting on with it soon.

This is the last chapter I'll have about there interactions at this stage in there relationship. Next chapter will most likely involve quite a few time skips if I can work it out correctly. We will get into a hand full of cases (or maybe just a quick 2) then we will move onto the Kira case. If we are all lucky I want to start the New Year off with them in Japan.

Please review they really do motivate me. The few of you that have reviewed in the last few months were really what got me writing again. So the more reviews the more quickly I'll update!

* * *

:Running Away:

::Truth::

_Lizzie was late for dinner again. Dad was going to be home in an hour and I couldn't get dinner done by myself. The last thing I wanted to do was get in trouble because of her again. Lizzie had started to hang out with a group of kids that I didn't like all that much. No one really liked them. I had no doubt that they were into something that they shouldn't be. The whole group usually hung out behind the ball fields after school._

_Luckily for me, the school was just around the corner. I ran outside and hopped on my bike and raced towards the school. If I was lucky I could find my sister and have her drive us to the store before either of us got in trouble with Dad. I saw that her car was still in the parking lot so I headed towards the fields. I ditched my bike in the grass and started for the back of the bleachers. _

_As I came around the corner I could smell smoke and hear loud voices. As I got closer I realized the loud voices were arguing about something. I hung back and peered through the gaps in the bleachers. I could see Lizzie and her new thug boyfriend but their backs were to me. I could also see a few of his gang and another girl that looked like my sisters old friend Casey. She was a cheerleader and must have just finished practice. Casey was fiercely arguing with one of the guys in the group. Neither of them looked very happy. I couldn't really hear what they were saying only vague words here or there but then I heard Casey spat what was clearly an insult to the other man. _

_It all happened so fast and through the tiny gap I wasn't really sure what was happening. All I know is the guy lunged at Casey and I saw lots of scuffling and Casey fighting back. I heard my sister shout out for her but when she tried to reach for her she was shoved to the ground. Then I saw Casey fall to the ground and heard my sister wailing. _

_I covered my mouth with my hands, scared that my breathing would be too loud. I wanted to scream or sob but I was so afraid. My sister was still over there and I was scared I would lose her too. Her boyfriend picked her off the ground and started to shake her, yelling something in her face but she was to hysterical to understand. _

_I scrambled up to find some help but just as I got to my feet someone grabbed me from behind. They put a hand over my mouth to stifle my screams and dragged me behind the bleachers. I thought I was going to die. I was so scared but then I heard Lizzie yell my name and I felt her latch onto my arm. The guy let go of me and she pulled me into her arms. _

_That's when I could see Casey laying on the ground. She still had her eyes open but she wasn't moving. It seemed like time froze and it took me a moment to realize my sister was yelling at me and shaking me. _

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_I needed your help with dinner."_

_It seemed like such a lame excuse now. Could that really have been what I was doing 10 minutes ago? _

_That's when Lizzie grabbed me and started to sob again. _"_Shut up" one of the guys shouted, I didn't care to find out which one. " Shut your fuckin' mouths and listen. You'll keep you your mouths shut bout this, got it? You keep it to yourselves and nothin' bad'll happen."_

_I don't know why but that made me just so angry all of a sudden. They couldn't do that to Casey. She was a sweet girl. She didn't deserve that. I stood up angry, my whole body shaking. _

"_And what are you going to do about it? What about when her family is looking for her? They have a right to know! I won't-" I didn't get to finish what I was saying before the guy Casey was arguing with picked me up by my throat and slammed me against a pole. _

"_If you don't keep your mouth shut then the same thing will happen to you." _

_Lizzie grabbed onto his arm and started screaming, "No! No, she won't say anything. Let go of my little sister!" Her boyfriend picked her up and pulled her away from us just as he let me drop to the ground._

_ It felt so hard to breathe. Like my airway was completely cut off. My breaths came in hysterical gasps and I could not focus on what was happening around me. I could feel the panic start to set in. I sat there on the ground with tears running down my face as I stared into the eyes of my sister's old best friend. _

_I didn't noticed when my sister grabbed me and started dragging me away. I didn't realize I was in my sister's car until we were pulling out of the parking lot. _

_Lizzie was holding me tight trying to get me to talk to her while her boyfriend drove us to our house. I didn't wait for the car to stop in the driveway before I jumped out of the car and ran in the house. I didn't want to be around anyone. I had just seen someone murdered and I almost died myself. I wanted to erase it all from my mind. I wanted it to never have happened at all. _

_Lizzie didn't give me the privacy that I wanted. Soon after I had gotten to my room she burst in after me. _

_"What the hell was that? Do you want to get yourself killed?" she yelled at me. _

_She grabbed me by my shoulders and threw me onto the edge of the bed. " You're not going to tell anyone about this understand. Not a word. This will all blow over and then we will be fine. Everyone will forget." _

_I pushed her hands off my shoulders. "How can you say that? Casey was your friend. We have to tell someone."_

_She stood up and looked at me sternly, "No, we won't say anything. Not if we want to stay alive. What good would we be dead? All we have is each other so you're going to stay quiet." Then she left my room. I cried into my pillow the rest of the evening. I didn't want to leave ever again. _

_That's when I heard the glass shattering in the kitchen. Dad was home and we hadn't made dinner. "All I ask from you runts is to have food ready when I get home. If you can't even do that you're useless. Where's your sister Liz?" _

_He was drunk again. _

_There was another crash of something being thrown on the floor. I crawl under the bed and didn't come out the rest of the night. _

_I woke up in the morning disorientated about where I was before realizing I had fallen asleep under my bed. I got ready and snuck out of the house for school before anyone could see me. I had to walk to school since I had left my bike there yesterday and I didn't want to talk to my sister._

_ By the end of the day it had gotten around that Casey was missing. No one had seen her since after practice. I tried my best to stay away from those conversations. I was scared all day that every time I came around a corner the guy who killed Casey would be there waiting for me. _

_Later that evening the police showed up at our door. They wanted to know if Lizzie had any idea where Casey was since they had once been friends. I sat in the living room with them as they talked to Lizzie. She hid her knowledge of yesterday's events so well it made me sick. When the cops left I saw my sister's boyfriend in the driveway. That's when I decided to leave. I couldn't be here anymore. I had to get away. _

_I told my father that I wanted to live with grandma in Spain and he didn't seem to care so long as he didn't have to put up with a 'useless runt' anymore. So that weekend I packed up a few things and used the money my brother had left with me to fly to Spain. I thought things would be better but I soon learned that my grandmother was developing dementia. Sometimes she didn't even remember I was there. It was still better then home. _

_But a few weeks after I left I got a letter from my sister. She told me that the investigation into Casey's disappearance had turned into a murder investigation and she wanted me to come home. The gang was anxious without me there. They thought I might tell someone without them knowing and if I didn't come home then she would come and get me._

_That night I left. I packed up everything I thought I would need along with the money in my grandmother's cookie jar and ran away. She wouldn't even notice I was gone and by the time Lizzie made it there I would be long gone. _

* * *

"What did you see Callie?" L asked. Callie only shook her head in reply. She still would not look at him and it was frustrating him. What could she be so afraid of that she would not tell him? She knew whatever the problem was he could do something about it. She should know he would not let any harm come to her. She would be safe from whomever she was afraid of if she just told him.

"Callie look at me and tell me what you saw?" She looked up at him but continued to cower by the door.

"I can't. If I told you what happened you would have to do something about it wouldn't you?"

L nodded before she continued, "Then I can't tell you. It would cause more problems then it would fix. And in the end I would have to go back there. Even if it were safe to go back I wouldn't want to go back. I can't stay there. It's like a black hole. You can't move forward, you're just stuck."

By the end of her reply she was not looking at him anymore, but she had stepped away from the door to face L properly.

"You have to tell me what you know," L prompted. He could not let this go. It could tell him everything.

She finally looked up at him again. This time she looked up at him in determination instead of fear. "I don't have to tell you anything. I won't go back," then she smiled. "Besides telling you would give away the puzzle. You wouldn't want that would you?"

He looked at her for a moment. She did not want to tell him. If he tried to force it out of her, she would most likely leave again and not come back. She was also partially correct. Her telling him would be too easy. He liked a challenge. He sighed, "Is anyone hurt?"

Callie's smile immediately fell off her face, "Not anymore."

L nodded his head understanding what she meant, "Very well then. If there is not any immediate danger you can have your way. But know this Callie, I will find out what your hiding."

Callie smirked and nodded her head. She was going to get to stay and that made her endlessly happy.

L spun back around in his chair before saying, "Just so your aware, I did not think you would be coming back so I ate the cupcake. It would be a shame to let it go to waste."

"What?!" Callie shouted, "That was my birthday cupcake!"

* * *

I'm starting up the kudos again to help with the reviewing. So:

1.) How do you feel about this story now that it has been awhile?

2.) How was this chapter to you? (I felt like I was rushing while writing but when I read it it seemed fine. What do you think?)

3.) What is your biggest wish/wonder about the up coming chapters?

4.) After all this time does Callie still feel the same to you? Do you still like her?

Thanks and review!


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